A Piece of the Action.

When Gene Roddenberry was putting together his first proposal for Star Trek, he jotted down a one-sentence synopsis: “President Capone.” And from that eventually came the second-season episode “A Piece of the Action.” In this episode of The Ready Room we’re joined by Matthew Rushing and Drew Stewart to discuss Kirk and Spock’s romp through 1920s Chicago—or at least an alien world modeled after the gangster lifestyle—in one the most quintessential TOS stories around. And if you’re lucky, you’ll leave the show with a royale Fizzbin.

In news we look at release dates for the Enterprise Season Two Blu-ray set, an expanded soundtrack for “The Best of Both Worlds” from GNP Crescendo, the premiere of Star Trek Continues, Space.com’s Treknology infographic, the History Channel’s Star Trek: Secrets of the Universe, and pre-order promotions for Star Trek Into Darkness. Plus, we learn the identify of Jeffrey Combs’s female counterpart. She is everywhere!

Star Trek Into Darkness.

After a four-year wait, Star Trek fans have finally been taken into darkness with the second chapter in the J.J. Abrams take on Gene Roddenberry’s creation. In this episode of The Ready Room we’re joined by Tristan Riddell, Charlynn Schmiedt, Matthew Rushing, and Lorrie Sears to discuss our impressions of the film, what we liked, what we disliked, and what it means for the future of the franchise.

In news we look at the upcoming Creation conventions in Chicago and Boston, Bing’s new Klingon translation option, a major UK Blu-ray bargain on Enterprise season two, the new Star Trek Rivals card game for iPhone and iPad, and Shatner’s new Captains Close-up mini series on EPIX, and a look at the initial box office number for Star Trek Into Darkness.

Star Trek (2009).

In the same year that Enterprise went black, marking the end of Star Trek on television, Paramount reached out to a new creative team for ideas on how to revive the franchise. What came next was revelation that J.J. Abrams was developing a new Star Trek film. Slowly fans learned that the project was a reboot of the franchise that would recast the iconic roles of Kirk, Spock, and their crew. We’re starting everything over again. As the poster said, “The Future Begins.” In this episode of The Ready Room we’re joined by Charlynn Schmiedt, Matthew Rushing, and Max Hegel to talk about the first J.J. film, the uproar it caused in the Trek community, where it fits into the overall franchise, and about its strengths and weaknesses.

In news we look at summer and autumn tour plans for Star Trek: The Exhibition, new developments in the possible remastering of Deep Space Nine for Blu-ray, Diamond Select’s USS Excelsior, Geek Nation Tours “Hollywood to Vegas with Larry Nemecek,” changes to the Star Trek Into Darkness release date, and we talk about IDW’s Star Trek Ongoing #20. Plus, Mike Schindler gives a report from the midnight screening of Into Darkness at the BFI IMAX in London.

Unexpected.

The first rule of Xyrillian boating is you do not talk about Xyrillian boating. The second rule is you don’t stick your hands into a box of pebbles with a stranger. This is something Trip Tucker learned the hard way when a seemingly innocent day on the holographic water left him with a few extra nipples and an alien baby. In this episode of The Ready Room we’re joined by Drew Stewart, Mariel Keeran, and Enterprise associate producer Dave Rossi to discuss “Unexpected,” how it gives us a rare glimpse of a truly alien environment, introduces holodeck and replicator technology, the first hostile encounter between human and Klingon ships, and more.

In news we look at a feature-length Blu-ray release for “Redemption,” recovered footage from “The Bonding,” the return of Star Trek fragrances, personalised Star Trek email addresses, a Facebook chat with George Takei and J.J. Abrams, a little known Star Trek Into Darkness TV spot, and the Into Darkness soundtrack.